Mike Brewster, Drew Nowak trying to make most of opportunity with Jaguars

Monday

Aug 13, 2012 at 9:33 PM

Vito Stellino

Drew Nowak and Mike Brewster don't have much in common except that they were signed by the Jaguars as undrafted rookie free agents in April.

Nowak played in obscurity as a defensive tackle at Western Michigan, starting 32 of 47 games. Brewster played at Ohio State, where he ended his career with 49 consecutive starts, the second-longest streak in school history.

Now the two players are getting an opportunity because three Jaguars offensive linemen - guards Will Rackley and Jason Spitz and center John Estes - are sidelined with injuries.

Rackley might be back in a week or two, but Estes is undergoing knee surgery and is out indefinitely. Spitz could be out for six weeks.

"That's hard," coach Mike Mularkey said of the injuries. "That's a difficult thing when you get [them at] the same position. We've got some guys that can move around and not totally put you in a bind. It's not the same as having your guys."

Brewster replaced Estes as the backup center and got good reviews in the preseason opener against the New York Giants on Friday night.

"He played pretty well. He took a step forward. I was very proud of him," Mularkey said.

Brewster's success was not a surprise. He was an All-American as a junior. He said if he'd left school after the 2011 season, he heard he was being ranked behind former Florida standout Mike Pouncey, who went in the first round to Miami, as the second-best center in the draft.

But Brewster decided to stay in school as a senior to stick with his buddies as Ohio State dealt with a scandal after some players sold their jerseys for tattoos.

"I wanted to come back and help my team. We were going through a lot at the school, turmoil and stuff, and we had a rough season," Brewster said.

Brewster figured he would drop to the third or fourth round, but he wasn't drafted. "It was definitely a surprise. It's something I'm going to carry in my back pocket as kind of like a motivator," he said. "You've just got to keep working hard."

Brewster said it's worked out because he got his degree from Ohio State and loves playing for the Jaguars.

"And I got to play one more year in the horseshoe [the nickname for Ohio State's stadium] with my buddies," Brewster said.

Nowak took more of a roundabout way to get to the Jaguars' offensive line.

He was a defensive tackle in college and signed with the Jaguars because he liked the idea of playing for defensive line coach Joe Cullen.

"They asked if I could take tough coaching, and I've had tough coaching my whole life. He [Cullen] gets the best out of the players. He's a tough coach, but he respects us a lot. I came down here and fit in right away," Nowak said.

He admits he was awed when he first showed up for the offseason program.

"I was like, 'wow.' I was going in with the big guys. But after a couple of weeks, these guys are just regular guys. If I work as hard as them or harder, I can play with them and do the same things they do," he said

The Jaguars moved him to the offensive line a week ago because their depth was hurt by the injuries.

Nowak, who hadn't played on the offensive line since high school, said he was fine with making the switch if it helped him make the team.

"He played fifty plays, and he'd been a guard for five days. He wasn't perfect. He had five mental errors, but you talk about a guy that has a chance to be a player. He's smart. He's tough. It's just amazing what he did," Mularkey said of Nowak's play against the Giants. "We may not be as bad off as we seem. Right now, it may seem that way because of inexperience."

Brewster and Nowak are in the running for backup jobs, along with Guy Whimper and D.J. Hall, another undrafted rookie, and Will Robinson. The starters are currently Eugene Monroe and Cameron Bradfield, who made it as an undrafted rookie last year, at tackles, Uche Nwaneri and Eben Britton at the guard spots and Brad Meester at center.

The Jaguars have a history of hitting on undrafted rookie free agents. They had six of them make the final 53 the past two years.

Besides Brewster and Nowak, linebackers Julian Stanford and J.K. Schaffer, wide receiver Kevin Elliott and tight end Matt Veldman are other undrafted rookies who have shown flashes in camp.

Vito Stellino: (904) 359-4279

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